The Cheddar Curtain Opens

Driving the lazy roller coaster of U.S. Highway 10 just west of Marshfield, Wis., I pass the usual stretches of cornfields and dairy farms on my way to The Highlands, a Vietnam veterans memorial in nearby Neillsville. But when I see a sign that says Nasonville Dairy, I am inclined to stop.

In the middle of farmland in the middle of the state, this third-generation, family-run cheese factory at 10898 U.S. Highway 10 near Marshfield is not exactly a destination, but if you're passing by any day but Sunday, the day's fresh cheese curds are lying on a stainless steel table right inside the door, waiting to squeak in your teeth. If someone inside is free at that moment or if you called ahead (715-676-2177, nasonvilledairy.com), you can even get a little tour of the place and learn a bit of something about cheesemaking.

Cheese and Wisconsin seem inseparable, but in the middle of the 19th century, Wisconsin actually was a wheat state. Crop failures and wear and tear on the soil, however, forced many farmers to consider feed crops, and by the turn of the last century, most farms had at least a few dairy cows. Cheese production grew with the herds, and by the 1930s there were well over 2,500 factories in the state. Sadly, by the 1990s there were only about 100.

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